


Aphrodite's Broken Heart: The Caballeros Arrive

by RavenclawCipherOfCabinOne



Series: The Heart of Aphrodite [3]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), Legend of the Three Caballeros (Cartoon)
Genre: Caballero Donald Duck, Family Feels, Kids Find Out Donald Was In The Navy, Not Beta Read, The Duck/McDuck fam aren't Xandra's biggest fans at the moment, They Also Learn More About Him As A Caballero, They all need hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27169976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenclawCipherOfCabinOne/pseuds/RavenclawCipherOfCabinOne
Summary: The remaining Caballeros arrive at McDuck Manor after learning what's happened to Donald. They help the family understand the duties of a Caballero while also being more than willing to get Donald's love back.
Series: The Heart of Aphrodite [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986043
Comments: 5
Kudos: 76





	Aphrodite's Broken Heart: The Caballeros Arrive

_“Where is he?”_

_“Where is he?”_

Both José and Panchito demanded in their native languages as they burst through the front doors of McDuck Manor. 

The pair looked ragged, exhausted, and haunted. Which wasn’t much different from how some of the others in the manor also looked. 

“Panchito! José!” Huey ran to meet them, embracing them both. The two did their best to calm the panic they’ve been carrying since they began their travels to Duckburg. They could see the tiredness in the young duckling's eyes, as well as the sadness. If they feel as horrible as they did, they could only imagine what Donald’s poor nephews must be feeling. 

José knelt down to meet Huey’s eyes after they separated from their hug. “Your uncle...where is he?” 

“He’s upstairs,” Huey mumbled sadly but then he perked up as he stared at them. “You guys are Caballeros too, right? Like he supposedly was?”

“Yes,” Panchito answered as José stood, both of them looking towards the stairs. Donald was up there. In a slumber placed on him by someone they considered a close friend. 

“Then you can help bring him out of this slumber, can’t you?” Huey asked. 

The two shared a look before both sighing deeply. Panchito then said, “Mijito, we will do everything we can to help Donald...”

“Why do I hear a ‘but’?” Huey asked with a frown. 

“...tell us what you know. And we will tell you what we know. Does that sound fair?” José asked gently.

Huey nodded slowly. He hated that there wasn’t an immediate answer in them like he and his brothers and Webby had hoped. But it was the closest they’ve had to a lead in some time. 

They could use something that at least _resembled_ hope. 

“I’ll get everyone,” Huey said. 

“ _Por favor_.” José stopped him. Panchito followed up with, “Let us see Donald first.” 

Huey nodded and led them up to where his uncle has been staying. The two adults gasp and rush to their friend, each coming up to one side and grabbing hold to one of his hands. 

José looked at all the machinery attached to Donald, then at Huey, “What do these machines do? What are they for?” 

“Xandra said she merely placed him into a sleep,” Panchito commented. 

Huey frowned at the name. First, he answered José’s questions. “They keep track of his vitals. Help us make sure he’s getting all his body needs until we can figure this out. As well as a power detector and defense mechanism to keep away possible threats. Like Xandra.”

The two birds shared a conflicted look. There has been nothing but conflict in their hearts since they’ve learned the fate of their friend. 

“Take us to Scrooge, mjio,” Panchito said. 

“The two other Caballeros!” Webby exclaimed when she saw them coming out of Donald’s room. 

“ _What_?” Dewey cried from somewhere else, but his footsteps could be heard as he rushed over. “It is! Have you come to wake Uncle Donald?” He asked with hope in his eyes. 

“Umm…” Sharing yet another look with each other, they looked back at the children. José sighed before he said, “We were told by Xandra what happened. We rushed here after we heard.” 

“We plan to do everything to get Donald back!” Panchito promised when he saw the children’s crestfallen expressions. 

* * *

“We’ve been off doing our own things for some time. On occasion when there’s a quest that needed the three of us, the Caballeros, we would unite like old times! It would be a grand time! Together against the forces of evil, there was nothing we could not handle!” José exclaimed with pride. But he frowned sadly soon after. “Xandra summoned us back to the Caballeros’ base. She told us about Donald’s quest.” 

“After everything we’ve faced, we’ve come to know the seriousness of some artifacts and deities, and their contribution to our world. Of the dangers that are out there, or chaos that may happen should the scales become unbalanced in any way. For that is the key...there greatness and glory, but also a heavy weight of responsibility that our ancestors passed down to us as legacies…” Panchito said as he pulled out a red amulet and looked at it with a far off look. “Part of us understands. We were her champions. It was our duty to keep the peace….”

Louie scoffed as he glared and asked, “Then why was only he asked?” 

“Easy lad,” Scrooge told him gently. He always had mixed feelings about Donald’s old friends. Thinking they were wasting time chasing foolish dreams rather than working hard for something, he knew there was a new light to them. “Xandra explained that Donald’s love was powerful enough to replace that of a god’s.” 

Panchito and José shared a tired smile as they nodded. 

“That does sound like him,” Panchito said but didn’t dismiss Louie’s question either. Turning to the green-clad duckling he began to explain what he knew. “Your uncle was a very brave man. And a soldier. He was one of the best the Navy ever had!” 

“What?”   
“No way!”   
“Uncle Donald?” 

Huey, Louie, and Dewey asked in order before looking over to their great uncle and their mother. 

Scrooge nodded, “After high school, your uncle tried college for a while, but it didn’t seem like it was for him. Though he didn’t tell anyone of his choice until he’d passed his training and been shipped off.”

“But what does he being a soldier have anything to do with him being the one chosen?” Huey pressed. Now that Louie brought it up, he wanted an answer. If the Caballeros were a team, the same and as much of an equal as he and his brothers did as triplets, what made their uncle more qualified? 

“The heart of Aphrodite is symbolic. Of love. But not hers. Though it can be easily mistaken as hers since she is the goddess of love.” José explained. 

“The heart belonged to Ares,” Webby said aloud, remembering the information she learned that day when they went to investigate the heart. 

“Ares?” Dewey echoed. 

“Aye lad. The god of war. The only thing he loved more than war...was Aphrodite.” Scrooge answered. 

“According to Xandra, Ares’ love for Aphrodite was something that caused Aphrodite to feel... _and_ fuel the earth. Or something like that.” Panchito said with a slight shrug. “I was far more concerned with the fate of our dear friend than that tale.” 

“I still don’t understand…” Dewey mumbled. 

“Your Uncle Donald’s love was _so_ grand, it could replace that of a _god_! But not just any god. A god of _war_. Who is more qualified or worthy than a soldier with the anger and love like that of Donald Duck? The symbolic love child of Ares and Aphrodite if ever there was one...” José asked with a sigh. “I wish I could have been more soldier-like. Maybe….maybe we could have given parts of ourselves, _together_! Rather than just the one...” 

“Do you think that would work?” Della perked up at a possible solution. 

The other two Caballeros tried very hard not to look at her. Donald’s sister. His _twin_! It was hard not to let the emotions of when they first heard overwhelm them. But now that she asked them a direct question, they had to. 

“The Caballeros were given these amulets as proof of our worth. It’s Donald’s sapphire amulet that’s replaced the heart of Aphrodite. All of Donald’s love is now in that gem. I’ve seen magic of all sorts in our quests. Power can transfer from one thing to another….” José began. 

“Do you really think that would work?” Panchito asked as he clutched his own amulet. 

“I do not know if this is possible. Xandra’s own heart was heavy with the choice she asked of Donald. The heart is a very important pillar of earth. If we are not careful, the mistakes can be disastrous.” José replied gravely. 

“But if we do nothing then Uncle Donald will remain like this and we _can’t_ just do nothing!” Louie exclaimed. 

“There is no undoing Donald’s deed. His sacrifice, as hard as it is for us to accept, was that of his own will.” Scrooge said solemnly. He wouldn’t deny the pride he felt for Donald and his heroic gesture. It’d been honorable, and he wouldn’t take that from his nephew. 

“He sacrificed so much for us...there’s got to be something we can do! He did this _for_ us! For the world!” Huey exclaimed. 

“What if we sacrificed our love?” Dewey asked. 

“Whoa, no way! I love Donald. And we’ll find a way, but no way are any of you trading places with Donald. He wouldn’t want that.” Della told him. 

“No, what I mean is-” Dewey began, but his brothers were already catching on to what he meant. 

“Of course! That’s got to work, right?” Huey asked them. 

“We’ve done more with less,” Louie answered. 

“Boys! Before anyone does anything, we all need to agree. If you have an idea...please share.” Scrooge told them. 

“Only Uncle Donald’s love could be powerful and angry enough to replace something gifted to the goddess of love from the god of war. Okay yeah, sure. But that means Uncle Donald’s sort of like an empty vessel.” Huey began. 

“Uncle Donald’s love is in all of us! Every favor, every small detail of happiness he doted on us!” Dewey explained further. 

“Together, as a collective with some others as well…” Louie added. 

“If we give up some of our love, an echo almost of what Uncle Donald’s given us over the years!” Webby added, catching on to the plan. 

“Will that work?” Della asked in a quiet tone, looking over to her uncle. 

Scrooge thought it over. It sounded plausible. There would need to be some research done, calculations as well. 

“We volunteer as testers,” Panchito said, bringing Scrooge out of his thoughts. 

José nodded, “The plan is sounding like a good one. But with magic...things can get complicated. And tricky. Before the kids or the rest of you risk anything, let us try first.”

“He was our friend. Our compadre. And it is our duty as the remaining Caballeros.” Panchito added.


End file.
